Post office strike could hit tax penalty revenues

A postal strike next week could cost the Treasury £100m due to waiving the
penalty fee for late taxes.

With the 31 October paper tax filing deadline looming, HM Revenue &
Customs has confirmed that it would waive the £100 penalty fee for late
payments, with one million returns expected to be late, reportsThe
Times.

Around 10% of the 9.2 million returns are estimated to be filed late. But
the 920,000 that would normally be fined £100 by the taxman would probably be
able to appeal successfully.

“There is an existing provision for this… If you post it on 25 October and
there is a strike, then that will have been done in good time so your penalty
will be reduced to nil,” said an HMRC spokesman.